Protection
by calicoToones
Summary: Beast Boy doesn't have his superhuman abilities, but Raven still needs protecting, whatever the cost. [One shot] [Submission for BBRaeWeek2015 on tumblr]


[I don't own Teen Titans]

Raven and Beast Boy hurried down the empty city street, hoping to go unnoticed. They were dressed in jeans and t-shirts, damp from the recent rain, and making their way though a rather dangerous part of town.

They were defenseless. So, as usual, Beast Boy decided to talk about something else to ease the tension.

"You don't laugh at my jokes. You _say_ I'm immature. But what do you really think of me?"

"I think you're: not funny, and immature," she deadpanned.

"No, _really_."

"I think you're my team mate," she said. " … and my friend."

"What about any other feelings regarding me?"

"My personal feelings, **if any**, are personal and not the topic for discussion…" She stopped talking as she noticed they were approaching some guys loitering on the street.

The neon lights reflected off the wet pavement, lights from deserted and run down strip clubs, tattoo parlours, and sex shops.

"What time is it?" Beast Boy asked.

"For the tenth time, I don't have my communicator either," Raven replied.

"Well, have you seen a clock somewhere? We need to know how long until dawn and the spell is broken."

"It's going to be a few hours. Let's just make it home."

They approached the group of three leather clad bikers, adorned with metal studs and spikes. One was sitting on a motorcycle, probably the leader. The others stood there like flunkies, the fat one with his back to them had 'Bugger' written on his jacket. The tall flunky had his skin tinted blue, as skin colouring was very popular.

"Remember, we have _no powers_," Raven cautioned. "So keep your mouth shut."

"Hey, baby!" one of them called out as they walked past.

"Ditch the twerp and come with us," said a fourth biker, as he stepped out of one of the shops.

Beast Boy growled under his breath.

"Just keep walking," Raven whispered.

"That wimp can't satisfy you the way we can," the leader said.

"My, you have a large motorcycle…you must be compensating for something else being so tiny," Raven shot back.

"Raven…!" Beast Boy whispered.

A couple of the bikers snickered.

"She got you there, Johnny," one said.

"Shut up, Bugger!"

They rounded the corner.

"What happened to 'keep your mouth shut'?" Beast Boy demanded.

"I don't tolerate jerks," she grumbled. "Besides, that was Johnny Rancid, and it looks like he's got a new gang."

"We'll take them down soon enough."

"With our powers."

"Good thing they didn't recognize us."

They walked on for another ten minutes, but the streets got darker and even more deserted. Somewhere they had made a wrong turn.

"I know where we are," Beast Boy said. "We're a couple blocks behind your favourite café."

"How would you know where my café is?" Raven inquired.

"..Just down this alley…" he said, leading the way. "Eww, something smells like body odor..."

And as he turned the corner, he walked right into Bugger's incoming fist. He fell on his butt with a thud.

"Oh, yeah, we recognized you," Johnny said, stepping out of the shadows.

Things became fuzzy as Beast Boy tried to stand. Raven swung into action. A jab broke Bugger's nose. A spinning side kick knocked the wind out of some nameless guy. Mr blue went down in a flurry of punches and kicks.

And Johnny stepped in from behind and put her in a choke hold. She struggled, but he was strong.

"Azarath, Met—" she mumbled, but she was out.

Beast Boy struggled to get up, but just as he did so, someone hit him in the stomach and he fell back. The last thing he saw was them carrying Raven away out of sight down the alley.

"Oh, I want Raven!" one of them said.

"We take turns!" Johnny ordered, and they were gone.

The world stopped spinning, and Beast Boy got up. But he was in a panic. What could he do? No ability to transform into animals. No communicator to call for help. Not even a stick to use as a club.

But he had no choice in the matter. He said something to reassure himself:

"I'm **still** an animal – on the inside."

He rounded the corner, and saw there were eight of them. And they were big.

"Oh, fudge…" he mumbled. Except he didn't say _fudge_.

Johnny smiled when he saw him. "Hey, boys, look who's come to play!"

Beast Boy growled and charged in. Bugger flicked open his knife.

.

.

.

Raven slowly opened her eyes.

"Relax. You're safe."

She saw Beast Boy kneeling beside her. His eye was blackened. There was a bump swelling on his forehead. His face was bleeding from several cuts.

"You got your powers back…?"

"Um, no. I had to do things the hard way."

"Oh my God! Look at you!" She noticed the way his other arm was hanging, and the blood on his shirt. "Why? Why?"

"Well, I couldn't let them take you Raven…You know, I like the _easy_ way a lot better."

"They wouldn't have killed me. You could have been _killed_!"

She sat up more and leaned in to hug him gently, but he winced in pain. Over his shoulder she saw several bodies lying unconscious, a pair of legs hanging out of a dented dumpster, and smoke rising from a motocycle that had crashed into a wall.

The sky was lightening as dawn approached. The two Titans staggered to their feet and hobbled down alley. Raven carefully wrapped her arms around Beast Boy to help him walk.

"I'll be able to heal you soon," she assured him. "Does it hurt?"

"Only whenever my heart beats."

"Is your mouth hurt?"

"No…" he said, assuming she was going to tell him to can the wisecracks.

Instead, she leaned in and passionately kissed him. Well, as passionately as she could while still being very gentle.

"**That's** how I feel about you," she said.

"This is new!" he quipped.

"No, I've felt this way for a long time. It's just that after tonight, I can't make any more excuses to hide it."

They both smiled, and the first rays of sunlight appeared.


End file.
